Rep: We will talk about this song a bit later. But first we have to say that you were born at the end of May and at the end of the ‘50s.

Marie: Yes. ’58. Östra Ljungby, near Ängelholm.

Rep: And you father, Gösta, worked as a mailman and your mother, Inez, worked later in a food factory. And early, very early when you were a little girl, you used to sing early in the morning and wake up your sister. You were in front of a mirror and watched yourself.

Marie: Yes, I used to play theatre, as well, in front of the mirror, or sing… All these when I was very young. So I decided very early what I wanted to become.

Rep: You wanted to become a pedagogue or a Music teacher. Music you started quite late, in 1976.

Marie: Yes, I wanted to become a school pedagogue and I have prepared myself for that. But when I started to sing, I was more and more attracted by that, I wanted to come more and more into the front. And I got that self-confidence as a singer.

Rep: I remember you were in a band called Strul. And together with the guys from the band, it became a real trouble (=strul).

Marie: Yes, you can say like that.

Rep: Let’s see how you looked like in Strul. Here it comes.

Marie: Oh! Wow, you have searched such old images!!

Rep: And we are not ready! But let’s see if you remember the name of the program presenter... the one who announced you, do you remember his name? His first name was Bertil...

Marie: Wait, wait, wait...Gullberg.

Rep: Yes, correctly, it was him, Bertil Gullberg. And talking about Strul...you have also released an album, which looks like this.

Marie: Yes, and this is a rarity.

Rep: Yes, this is a rarity. There are not many copies of it. Just 5 or 6. Then you used to sing backing vocals with Gyllene Tider. How did you meet them?

Marie: Per and Gyllene Tider shared the studio with us, better said, we shared the studio with them, because they had money and they were the ones who decided in the studio. And in such a little town, everyone knew everyone, all used to help each other. So I can say that we met there in the studio.

Rep: You helped with backing vocals artists as Lasse Lindbom and Ulf Lundell and after that you got a disk contract with EMI. What does it mean when you get such a contract? What does it mean to an artist, to you?

Marie: It was something enormous, especially as a solo artist. I had been a part of these groups, Strul and Mammas Barn, but this time it was something great to sign the decision. I remember that I was in Stockholm and used to call my mother and ask: what do you think? Is it ok? And she said: I just don’t want anything about drugs! (laughs) It was the only thing she was afraid of. And of course that it was great, even if it happened quite late, I was 25. Then I released a big hit, “Ännu doftar kärleken”, which was a successful single. I didn’t believe that it would be successful, as it was not so strong. Now I understand how the other people received it and I am still very proud of this song today.

Rep: Let’s have a look! (...) Where did you get that dress from?

Marie: Well, that dress... The designer was great! She is also from Halmstad and we became good friends. And she wanted this dress to be something special. And I remember that my mother called me after she had watched me on TV. We were talking about the idea of this dress and she said: It’s an extraordinary dress, not bad at all! (laughs) But she thought it was ok, compared to the fashion of the ‘80s.

Rep: Paul McCartney spreads his songs, both with Beatles and as a solo artist. Does he have the same talent as you? You can also spread your songs.

Marie: Well, sometimes I can do that, but it is very rarely, unfortunately. I have had a very creating period of time, both with Roxette and as a solo artist. “Äntligen” is called my latest single. And I really had to work with all these things. It gives you a nice feeling and a huge power.

Rep: I remember that you were tired in the morning. Do you wake up in the night and work? Do you work all night long?

Marie: Yes, it happens.

Rep: And you record in the night?

Marie: No, I just write, I can’t shout like a crazy one in the middle of the night. (laughs)

Rep: Do you write the words or the rhythm?

Marie: Both. They just come together many times.

Rep: You have fantastic songs and texts; we have to see few of them. (...) These were from 3 different TV shows. Let’s see if you remember one of them.

Marie: Jacobs Stege – Efter Stormen.

Rep: Exactly, the first one was...

Marie: Rörbolaget.

Rep: And the last one was...

Marie: Söndagsöppet...

Rep: No, it was wrong. It was Blixt från Klar Himmel, but you get one point because you said one correctly.

Rep: How and where and why it became Roxette? How was it born?

Marie: It has to do a lot with Per’s and my co-operation. We had a very good relation, we were very good friends, with the same music tastes, we had a lot of fun. Sometimes we used to write together. Sometimes not. All the time we wanted to put together our best parts, we felt from the beginning that it would become something good of this. We had a huge power together.

Rep: But from the beginning it was not so good.

Marie: Yes, because I had many doubts, as I had a lot of success as solo artist with “Den sjunde vågen” in ’86. And Roxette was at the beginning. I was like this: on which side shall I continue? And I had so much support from friends and record companies that I should continue to sing in Swedish. But to me it was important what I felt inside, in my soul: ‘this is the right thing, it will be good’. So it was a big decision.

Rep: “Neverending Love”, your first single...

Marie: Oh!

Rep: Take it easy! This song became very successful. Later you had a success in America. Could it be bigger? If you stay in front of the mirror and ask yourself: I am on the list in the USA, can it be better?

Marie: It was great, indeed, and it followed a huge tour. “Joyride” was the 4th song which reached number one in the USA. It was our biggest tour, an experience that you can’t forget. Something hard to believe. We had an audience of 50,000 – 60,000 people and all of them could sing the songs. We were in Chile, in Australia, in Germany, it was fantastic.

Rep: But when you are in the middle of that craziness, in limousines, with bodyguards, meeting crazy fans that shout, meeting nice fans...when you are on the stage, you know... in which of these moments are you the happiest? Is it when you stand on the stage and sing? Or is it when you go by limousines?

Marie: (laughs) Nothing of what you have said. It is exactly that second when we enter the stage and all the 60,000 people start to shout. It is a kind of power that we get from them. It’s a great feeling. It’s magic.

Rep: We will see some songs with Roxette now.

Marie: It was great that you could take a bit from each song and put them together.

Rep: The last one was from Cirkus, Roxette Unplugged. How did it feel?

Marie: It was great.

Rep: “It Must Have Been Love” can be heard in the film “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. I remember that “Pretty Woman” was a song written by a guy.

Marie: Sorry, what did you say?

Rep: “Pretty Woman” was a song written by a guy.

Marie: Yes, it sounded like this: Pretty Woman… written by Roy Orbison.

Rep: Exactly. You have got a lot of prizes, Rockbjörnen, Grammy and so on. I wonder where you have them all, as there are many that you have got.

Marie: Yes, there is not much place, I can say. I have got many prizes as a solo artist, too. Plus the ones with Roxette. So I needed place for all of them. I have done a huge frame, where I have them all.

Rep: So that is ok for you. And you can point at one: this one I have got from…

Marie: Exactly.

Rep: If your father Gösta asks if you have succeeded, do you think that you have done that?

Marie: Yes, well, everything that you experience changes you in the future. A part of me will always be the little girl. And this part you cannot throw away, you just have to take care of it. And I try to do that.

Rep: Now we will try to watch the latest images taken at “Polar Music Prize”.

Rep: Marie Fredriksson, I think that it has been very cool that you could come here today and you spent some time with us. Hope it will be ok with you in the future.

Marie: Thank you.

Rep: Today we have invited a well-known artist to play live in the “Morning News” studio. Marie Fredriksson. Good morning.

Marie: Thank you.

Rep: “Äntligen” is both the title of the song and of the album with your best songs between 1984 – 2000. Have you waited a long time to release this album?

Marie: Yes. I began 1987, after my first single had been released – Ännu doftar kärleken – then I released 3 albums at the end of the ‘80s and then Roxette was born and it took a lot of time and energy. At the beginning of the ‘90s there were 5 albums, but I felt it had been a long time. I felt the need to summarize a bit, to remember where I had started. And also for my fans’ sake.

Rep: Was it difficult to choose?

Marie: No, it was not difficult, in fact, because I took all the hits and I also had some favourite songs that I have included on the album. So it felt quite simple.

Rep: When you listen to your songs from the ‘80s, both the rhythm and the words, what do you think about?

Marie: Well, the sound from the ‘80s was very bombastic and I used to sing very high. I don’t understand how I could do that. But the most important when you sing is the moment when you start to enjoy everything. I feel that my voice is a bit darker now, a bit quiet. It fits me as I am nowadays.

Rep: If you compare your voice today with your voice in the ‘80s, how much has it changed?

Marie: It is something different. I focus on Roxette sound. It is much more quiet and much more that type of voice that I want to have today.

Rep: Are you happy with that?

Marie: Of course, very very happy.

Rep: If we think about the song “Äntligen” and other similar songs, there you sound differently.

Marie: Yes, it depends on me, on how I feel. Sometimes my voice is very high, like in the ‘80s. But there is a difference. That time I didn’t know what I wanted from myself.